


Gone

by MeredithBrody



Category: NCIS: New Orleans
Genre: F/M, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-05
Updated: 2016-07-05
Packaged: 2018-07-21 15:44:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7393507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeredithBrody/pseuds/MeredithBrody
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After LaSalle is killed, Pride can't stay. He needs to admit his feelings to one person before he goes (Prody, twoshot)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by a quote from Iolo White from the Welsh TV show "Pobol y Cwm" - "I'm used to people walking away... I just never thought it would be you."

Five days earlier they’d been a full team. They’d been on a raid. Now they’d just gotten back from a funeral. The funeral of one of their own. They’d said goodbye to Christopher LaSalle his morning, and the wake had moved to the bar after Chris’ second line. His family had decided to bury him in his adopted city, and honestly, it made Merri feel better. Suddenly people were asking where King had gone, and Merri was the one nominated to find where he was. Going upstairs he was putting some things in a bag, and Merri just stared at him for a minute. “King, what are you doing.”

“DC, tonight. Then… I don’t know.” He sounded so broken, and Merri could understand that. Chris had been like a son to King, and they were as close as two people generally could be. After a few seconds she realised what he was actually saying, he was going away, disappearing so that he didn’t have to face this. King. 

“I never thought you’d be the one leaving.” Merri couldn’t help that from slipping out. She was worried about her friend, but more than that, she wasn’t entirely sure about how she could do this without him. Chris was practically her brother, and she’d already lost her twin sister, now she’d lost her brother. She needed the only stable person in her life to be here while they got through this.

“I can’t stay here. Not after this.” He didn’t even look at her, carried on going through the drawers, pulling things out and throwing them into his bag. Pictures of all of them, she recognised many of them, some of them she’d never seen. This would be hilarious if it wasn’t so devastating. More than anything she wished Chris was here to force King to see he was doing the worst thing.

“Yes you can, it would be simple.” It just wasn’t going in that he really wanted to leave. That he didn’t want to stay and help the rest of them getting through all of this. She wanted him to stay, she was certain that all the others would want for him to stay, but it mattered most right now how he was feeling.

“He was my best friend, and he’s gone.” King said quietly, stopping all of a sudden and turning toward her. After a few seconds she just walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him, stroking the hair at the back of his neck. Slowly but surely she felt King’s arms snaking around her waist and he buried his face into her neck.

“I know, it’s a tragedy. One we should get through together.” Merri whispered quietly, right into his ear. She wanted to keep talking about it, wanted to convince him that he should stay there with them. That he should help them through it, that they should all just be there together. They needed to talk, be happy, remember Chris the best way they could.

“I can’t… I can’t think about you and Sonja, not right now.” He stammered a little, and she felt the long inhalation against her neck. Worrying about him she just stayed there, stroking his hair and letting him get it out. They all needed someone to sit and support them, to just hold them while they were all breaking down. She’d do that for him if that was what she needed.

“Are you going to come back?” Merri didn’t know how long it had been before she asked quietly. This place would not be the same without Dwayne Pride being there, and Merri didn’t know how she’d be able to hold this place together if he went. But she wasn’t going to stop him from doing something that he needed to do, if he needed to do it. Given how she’d been after Emily’s death, how she’d emotionally withdrawn, she understood it entirely. 

Slowly King pulled back, he kept his hands on her cheeks, stroking along her cheekbones with his thumbs softly before he dropped them away and just looked at her again. “I don’t know.” He said honestly, and that made her wonder if he knew anything. She couldn’t blame him if he didn’t, because she didn’t know either.

“You know, I’m used to people leaving me behind… But I didn’t think it would be you.” It had been Merri’s life, having people leaving her, people moving on without her. She was just so used to it. It didn’t even surprise her anymore when someone said they were leaving, but still, she’d never expected that Pride would be one of those people. She’d always thought he’d be there. Just always, always there.

“I’m not leaving you, Meredith. You could come with me.” He said it quietly, and as she looked up slightly to meet his eyes she saw that he desperately wanted for her to say that she’d go with him. Truthfully though, if King wasn’t going to be here, somebody needed to be here to run the office, and without King and Chris, she was next in charge. 

“Someone needs to stay here, keep the office running.” Merri tried to smile and keep it light, keep things going easily as King had dedicated his life to keeping this office going. She was proud of him, in truth, and she really didn’t want for his success here to be overwritten by people coming in to take over.

“If you aren’t gonna come I have to say something.” He stepped forward again and slid one hand up her neck, pulling her close to him as he lowered his head to kiss her softly. They stood there for a minute, the kiss continuing while they just went through it. When he pulled back a little he continued speaking. “I love you, I’ve loved you since the day you came to New Orleans, and I’ll love you whether I’m here or not.”

“I love you too.” She whispered, reaching up to stroke his cheek too. After that how did he expect for her to let him go? How did he expect her to stand back as he disappeared for who knew how long? All she wanted was for him to stay right there with her and help her through it all. “Don’t go Dwayne, please don’t go.”

“I have to. Remember how you needed to sort your head out after Russo?” King asked, and she did understand that. It had been one year since Russo’s betrayal, and she was still only just getting over it all. Clearly, Chris’ loss affected them all even more than that, especially for King. “I need to sort mine out after this.”

“You’ll come home?” She probably sounded pitiful, sounded like she was expecting him to tell her that she was never going to see him again. Right now Merri really didn’t care, because all she wanted was to at least know that he was going to be back with her sometime soon. Doing it along really wasn’t an option for her anymore.

“Leave a light on for me?” It was both a question and a statement. He wanted her to wait for him, and she would. Their feelings for each other had been building for a long time, and Merri wasn’t going to be pretending they weren’t there just because Pride wasn’t in the building with her right now. So she could wait.

“My living room, until the day you’re back.” She smiled, then leaned up to kiss him again. They’d broken that dam, and it wasn’t going to stop. Merri wanted to kiss him for the rest of the day, the rest of the week. If this was a good thing that came through all of this, and even though she was sad, this was a development they’d needed.

“If I come back, I’m coming back to you. No other reason.” King said quietly, then he leant down again to kiss her again. It was remarkable to hear him saying that if and when he came back he’d be seeing her. He’d be coming back to her. That was what mattered most to her, that he would eventually come home.

Merri just stroked his hair, unable to believe that things had gone downhill so rapidly, that losing Chris had caused them all to be spun around this much. Nothing felt real, and Merri was really just trying to hold it together. That’s why she didn’t want to keep pushing, if he wanted to leave, she’d let him. “We’re going to miss you so much.” 

“We?” He asked with a smirk. She knew for certain that King knew exactly who they were talking about, but of course he’d want to hear her say it. It wasn’t necessarily going to be something that he heard all that often now, but Merri could at least tell him that he would be missed. 

“Me, Sonja, Loretta, Patton, Sebastian… All of us.” It had stung not to add Chris’ name there. She knew that they would all miss Chris, and that made it difficult to face losing King too. She looked at him again as she pulled back a little. “Especially me.” She had to admit it, even though he’d already know.

“I’m going to miss you too. I’ll call you with where I end up.” He leant down to kiss her once then pulled away, finally, and picked his bag up. “I’m going down to the office to get the rest of my things.” That made sense, he didn’t keep all that much here, as he still lived in the office more than anything. “I love you.” He muttered into her ear, and then he was gone. Neither of them knew where, but she was sure that she’d hear from him soon.


	2. Chapter 2

The city hadn’t changed, not even a little. He hadn’t expected it to really. Walking through the streets he still called home made him instantly sorry that he’d left. He was in a better place now, undoubtedly better able to handle his emotions and his grief, but he wished he hadn’t had to go away to do it, and that it hadn’t kept him away for so long.

Officially, he was on personal leave. He’d told Vance that he didn’t know when he’d be back, and in truth he still didn’t know. This was Merri’s office now. Even as he walked to the gate and was immediately let through with a smile by Roy, he could feel the difference around the building. This was her show now, not his.

There she was, doing exactly what he’d expected. They’d text and called every week since he’d left, and every time he’d seen her name or heard her voice he’d missed her even more. Looking into the office, seeing Chris’ desk, it hurt more than he cared to admit but then she’d drag his eyes away again.

They had a probie, he knew that. She’d told him that on their last call a few days earlier. He hadn’t told her he was coming back, he’d wanted to be able to do this. From the minute she’d arrived in New Orleans he’d known she’d end up running the place. He hadn’t thought it would be this soon, or that it would be because of what had happened, but he’d known it would happen eventually.

She’d clearly kept the office running smoothly, and he was loving watching her sat at her desk, the bright yellow chair and the yellow mug that always made him think of sunshine. He had equated it to the part of her personality she never let people see, but he knew it was there. Trying to shine around the clouds that were the events that had happened to her.

God she was beautiful, and after a year of mostly looking at pictures he’d forgotten the way she moved, the way she held herself. As she stood up and walked across the office he couldn’t help but smile, he’d missed her more than he wanted to admit, and he couldn’t wait another moment without her knowing he was there. “Merri.” He called, quietly but firmly, and he saw her stop and spin around to him before stopping dead, clearly not believing her eyes.

“King!” She called a moment later, then dropping the files onto the desk beside her she just ran to him, throwing her arms around him. He’d opened his just in time, and instantly held her close to him, remembering how their last day together had gone. The day of Chris’ funeral. The pain was still there when he thought about it, but having Merri in his arms made it duller, and she whispered the three words he’d been longing to hear. “You came home.”

“Come on probie, let’s head down to Belle Chasse. B, you stay and catch up.” Sonja smiled and walked up beside them. King let go of Merri for a second and reached down to hug the smaller agent, the one who he’d brought to NCIS. He could see his early dynamic with Chris going on between Merri and Sonja now. It was nice to be here with his friends again. “It’s good to see you again King.”

“You too, Sonja. We’ll catch up soon. I still own the bar.” He was certain they all still knew that, and he could wait until they were there to catch up, and to meet the new agent. Being back here made him certain of one thing, and only one thing. He couldn’t serve in NCIS again. He couldn’t try to take this office back over.

Sonja was just grinning at him, and it seemed like she was just as happy to have him back as he was to be back, though there was a bonus with having Merri back with him. “I know, we go there pretty much all the time. Buckley loves us.” Sonja smiled then turned her attention to Merri, clearly wanting to get on with work, and no doubt explain to their young member who he was. “B I’ll message you what the SDI says.”

“Thanks, Sonja.” Merri smiled, and he felt her hand gripping his shirt a little tighter, and he realised that she’d never let him go. He was happier about that, and turning to her he just pulled her a little closer then dipped his head and kissed her neck a couple of times before she spoke again. “You home for good?”

“As long as you’ll have me.” He said, and that was the truth. He had only come back to New Orleans for Meredith. He’d said when he left the only reason he’d come back was for Merri, and it was still how he felt right now. She was all that he wanted, and he was going to focus on her now. “God Merri I’ve missed you.” He couldn’t resist telling her all that, and he then kissed her neck again.

“I’ve missed you too.” As he pulled back again there was a frown on her face, and he just tilted his head slightly, hoping that that would prompt her into explaining what it was that was bothering her all of a sudden. “We had to clear out your room.” She ended up eventually saying quietly, and he just pulled her back into his arms.

“I’m honestly not surprised. Where’s all my stuff?” He knew Linda wouldn’t have it, and the same with Laurel. If they weren’t here in the office he wondered where they were. Before everything had happened he would have guess Chris’ place, but now he’d have to assume that everything was at Merri’s.

“In boxes at my place, some of it’s at Sonja’s.” That would actually make sense. He remembered Merri’s place not being that large, and she had her own things in the house too. That was exactly what he had hoped though, as it did say that she was interested in possibly having him around with her for good.

“You look good doing this, Merri. I’m not coming back to NCIS, I can’t do it, and you’re doing amazingly.” He hadn’t told anyone else this, but he wanted to start a life with the woman currently in his arms, that started with telling her what he was thinking. “I’m going to run the bar with Buckley, play music.” That was all he needed now, this was a part of his life he didn’t think he could go back to. “And maybe, just maybe, eventually I can be a husband to this incredible federal agent I’m in love with.”

“Oh I hope they’re nice, when can I meet them?” She teased, and he couldn’t help but laugh. He was going to play along a little until he wanted to say something else. They still hadn’t moved, and in truth he was glad that she hadn’t pulled him in. He wasn’t sure that he would be able to deal with that yet.

“You already know them very well.” He smirked, then leant down to finally kiss her lips. He felt her arms tightening around him for a second, and he was so happy about it all. It seemed like she was happy about this, and that made King feel even better about all of this. It was going to work out, and he was going to have a future, something he hadn’t been sure about.

“This federal agent you’re in love with, has she offered you a place to stay yet?” Merri’s voice was still teasing, but the look on her face told him that in this case she was actually completely serious. In truth he’d been expecting for her to not want that immediately, and he was going to stay at the bar.

So, all in all that was an interesting prospect he hadn’t thought about at first. “Not yet, maybe soon.” He whispered then kissed along her jawline so that he could whisper in her ear. He knew that that was the easiest way to get her to agree to anything, though since she’d brought it up he was assuming she was offering. “I’ll make dinner for her as payment.”

“She could like that a lot.” Merri smirked, and he wondered if she missed his cooking more than she’d actually missed him. It would be fun to find out anyway. As they just stood for a minute holding each other, it was as if he could hear Chris in his ear, and see him walking through the carport. 

“I still miss Chris, Merri.” He wanted to say it aloud, and he just gave Merri a squeeze as he said it. He was certain that she still missed him too. She had lost a great number of people in her life, and Chris had just been another. It was hard for them all, there was no doubt about that, but after a year it should hurt left.

“I miss him too. But we’ll be able to deal with it better now we’re together, Dwayne.” That was a fact, one that he wasn’t going to be able to fight with. The two of them and their other friends were going to be able to help each other through the bad days. It was going to be better now he was home.

“The one thing I can do now, Merri, is promise that I’m not going to be like James. I’m not going to leave you alone again.” He hoped that reassured her, the fact that he wasn’t going to go again. He regretted staying away so long. “I love you.” He told her again, and he was going to make sure he told her that every day, for as long as he could. None of this had started well, but it was something good to have come out of it.


End file.
